Varien – Blood Hunter

After an extended hiatus during which the producer scrubbed his social media presence and took a step back from releases, Varien returns with his first track of 2018, “Blood Hunter.” With intensity that is obvious from the start, the producer’s break did nothing to soften his skills.

A wide open intro sets the mood, as lingering growls of bass and vocal samples doused in reverb flit in to raise the tension. This builds to a punishing drop, where a thudding kick drum and seismic snare are flanked by the slashing downstrokes of oscillators.

With a volatile, brooding energy, “Blood Hunter” announces Varien is back in a big way for 2018.